Joseph O’Connor

Joseph O’Connor is an Irish novelist, playwright, screenwriter and broadcaster whose work frequently explores migration, political violence and the ways private lives are shaped by history. Born in Dublin, he studied at University College Dublin and later at Oxford and Leeds before working as a journalist. He achieved international recognition with Star of the Sea, a historical novel following passengers aboard an emigrant ship during the Great Famine. His other novels include Redemption Falls, set during the aftermath of the American Civil War, Ghost Light, inspired by the relationship between playwright J. M. Synge and actress Molly Allgood, and Shadowplay, which depicts the theatrical world of Bram Stoker, Henry Irving and Ellen Terry.

O’Connor’s later historical fiction includes the Rome Escape Line series, beginning with My Father’s House. Set during the German occupation of Rome, it fictionalises the activities of Irish priest Hugh O’Flaherty and the network that helped escaped prisoners and Jewish civilians evade the Nazis. The story continues in The Ghosts of Rome, combining espionage, resistance activity and wartime suspense with close attention to the moral choices faced by people living under occupation. O’Connor’s fiction is distinguished by its multiple viewpoints, strong sense of place and interest in characters divided by class, nationality and political allegiance.